What does Success look like to you?

Let’s start this one off with a dictionary definition (source – dictionary.com):

Success [suh k-ses]

noun

1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors;the accomplishment of one’s goals.

2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

3. a performance or achievement that is marked by success, as by the attainment of honors: The play was an instant success.

4. a person or thing that has had success, as measured by attainment of goals, wealth, etc.:

She was a great success on the talk show.

 

My favorite is the first one noted above, centering on goals.  We all have goals right?  Big ones and little ones; realizing the right mix helps us to feel accomplished.  Conversely, too many big or difficult goals that are hard to meet can make us feel deflated.  And too many goals in general… utter chaos and overwhelming!

My latest attempt at goal setting is doing my best to pay attention to what grabs my attention and makes me feel something.  Then if that passion continues, set some goals around it.  Counting my blessings daily as posted here: The Best Perspective has been one avenue for me to tackle the goal of becoming a more consistently positive thinker.   I even have a metric built in for this one! I love a good SMART goal.  

Some other successes I chase after… when thinking about my world, am I doing enough in my own circle to feel like a successful human being?  Being the best parent I can be, a supporting wife, friend, daughter, sister… the true goal to choose kindness and understanding, to convey compassion vs. frustration.  This one is tricky for me, I have a short fuse at times and lean towards taking things personally.  So I need a lot of reminders, like the one below, and also a bit of patience with MYSELF first.

There are lots of other goals as well…losing weight, to finally cleaning up that email inbox, to obtaining a master’s degree, or maybe writing a book (yikes!).   Part of life is shifting the goal to be more manageable, flexible, or even in the world of technology and business…agile.

For example. one of my goals at the start of this blog was 3 posts/ week.  I am averaging 1 per week since I created this blog a few months ago.  I have a lot of reasons and excuses.  No time, too tired, busy busy busy!  Truth be told, I didn’t factor in the fear of writing.  Of being read… of reaching MY success. Self-sabotage has come into play because it’s SCARY to do well.  For instance, it’s great to have a blog that hit home with many… and then the next gets no views.  So what if you have that amazing post, and then a not so great one?   Will you lose the followers you gained?  And if so, do you forge ahead, virtually brush yourself off, and get your thoughts out to the world again?

My latest mantra…

Keep going.  Keep trying.  Your definition of success gets closer with every step.  

Thank you for reading and I would love to hear about your personal picture of success!